a legal maxim well suited for current judicial system
After 7 years and 3 months, the four convicts in nirbhaya gang rape and murder are hanged on Friday at 5:30 am in tihar jail.this is the first time that four men will be hanged together in South Asia’s largest prison complex. The convicts and their lawyers has tried all their legal options to avoid hanging from moving to international court of justice to a last night petitions at Delhi HC. Their mercy and curative petitions are also rejected many a times
On the night of 16 dec 2012 victim,a 23 years old woman while returning from munirka with her male friend was brutally gang rape and murdered. She suffered serious injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals. The news came up as a shock to all of us,it shows harsh reality of unsecure and unsafe environment in the national capital especially at night. Outpouring of anger and grief following the rape and murdered give rise to large scale protests where tens of thousands of people stand against human trafficking across the country. Meanwhile the victim jyoti singh died on 29 December in Singapore during her treatment
legal reforms after the incident
The incident expose the loopholes in the criminal law and judicial system with matters related to sexual assaults cases. Within a few days a committee headed by former CJI J.S Verma to suggest amendments to criminal law deal with sexual assaults cases. Through a ordinance in feb 2013 it was provided for the death penalty in cases of rape. The other reforms including a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years for gang rape, and six new fast track courts created solely for rape prosecution. Due to old law,a accused who was below 18 years at the time of crime was acquitted. In December 2015 Rajya Sabha passed the juvenile justice bill which proposed the accused who are 16 years old are adults in court of law. Other than this government also setup the Nirbhaya Fund to address violence against women
Justice to rape victims is still a far cry
After years we have came through a lot of law reforms but justice to rape victims is still a far cry. The lack of fast track courts,delay in trails and unavailability of forensic labs are some reasons. According to NCRB reports there were 33659 cases in 2017 reported of rape and sexual assaults. As of march, there are 166882 cases of rape pending trail across the country conviction rates are also remain low due to huge pendency of case and delays in investigation and prosecution. In 2018 NCRB disclosed that 34000 rapes were reported but only 27% of which led to actual conviction. Use of money and muscle power also hindrance to legal process,recent cases of politicians from Uttar Pradesh are such examples
delays in legal process causes disbelief
In a democratic country like India the pillars of democracy should hold their credibility and citizens are need to put in confidence with them. Few months ago when Hyderabad police encountered all 4 gang rape accused of a 27 years old doctor. All of them was under police custody and tried to escape. Afterwards People through various social media platforms justified the action,this shows they some how are losing their faith in justice delivery system which is scary. When Nirbhaya movement was sparked it gives hope that in future,crimes against women would terminate and thinking of society should change. Government policies and reforms in law are need to be more practical in nature. Fast track courts are required to be more established and their judicial delivery have to be speedy in their proceedings. it is the role of state to ensure credibility of its democratic institutions.